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Thursday, March 8, 2018

Koh Gen Do UV Face Powder SPF50+ PA++++

I never took any interest in Koh Gen Do before because they specialize in base makeup and I don't wear any base makeup. The only time I have for is sunscreen powder which I use to set my sunscreen. Last summer though, pictures of their UV Face Powder SPF50+ PA++++ popped up on my Insta feed and that got me curious.

Upon further looking on the brand's website, I found the sunscreen powder came in two colors, a matte Soft Beige and a luminous Baby Pink.
Even better, these came in two sizes too, a large 10g and a smaller 4g
for sampling, so I went with a 10g of Soft Beige and a 4g of Baby Pink.

All pictures taken in natural lights without flash.

Interestingly enough, as I was preparing this post I looked up these powders again and saw that they're no longer available. Apparently, Koh Gen Do only releases these UV Powders periodically as LE's, and sometimes they release them in more colors too. For example, the LE's released in 2016 had a third color, Natural Beige, whereas there were only Soft Beige and Baby Pink when I looked last summer. May be they'll be released again this summer with a third color?

The 10g jar of Soft Beige is huge! Well, not as enormous as the 17g Beauty Protector Finishing Powder behemoth but still isn't something I'd carry with me or even pack for the road, so it's going to be fixture at my desk instead. The 4g jar is much more manageable, but mine's also pink. Ha. So far, the most portable and travel-friendly sunscreen powder I've own to date is the Panna Kiss Powder.
Panna Kiss contains the same amount of product (10g!) as this Koh Gen
Do Soft Beige but stores it in half the space. Wow. Granted, Panna Kiss has a weaker SPF,
but it's also a fraction of Koh Gen Do's price. Like, one fifth the price, serious! Too bad Panna Kiss is discontinued. Urgh.

The formula is great! It's unscented, very light and airy and none of the chalky talc-y feel. That said, I wouldn't recommend using any of these sunscreen powders on their own in place of a sunscreen, because I'd have to apply a whole lot of powder to get that labeled SPF. There were many times when I was in a rush and just slapped on whatever sunscreen nearest to my reach. Most often, it was the easy-on-easy-off stuff hubby likes, because I didn't have time to wait for a waterproof milk to set and then finish up with a sweep of powder.

So far, my arsenal of sunscreen powders have been fantastic. I have enough variety that I could mix things up and not get bored. The powders themselves are great in that they don't crease or cake even when applied over a non-waterproof sunscreen, the kinds that melt as the day wears on, especially on my combination skin. That was a long-winded way of saying I'm happy to add Koh Gen Do to my lineup.

- Soft Beige: shimmer-free and does provide a tiny bit of coverage, though not much, so it's technically a translucent finishing powder. This one is currently in my tray and I'm really enjoying it.

- Baby Pink: pink-tinted with very fine shimmers that give a luminous, soft-focus glow. I actually use this as a highlighter on gray and gloomy days, and even then only under the eye area, and around the nose and mouth. I think this 4g jar will last me quite a while.